During a visit to New Hampshire on February 13, 2018, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt provided Governor Chris Sununu (R-NH) a letter announcing EPA's efforts to work towards a carbon-neutral policy for biomass and clarify federal procurement recommendations for responsibly managed forests. According to Pruitt, EPA recognizes the importance of the forest products industry to the State of New Hampshire and is focused on clarifying regulations that were encumbering the industry. Following the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, which directs EPA to recognize proactively forest biomass as a renewable agency source and establish policies that reflect its carbon neutrality, a multi-agency effort was initiated between EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a mechanism for federal cooperation and consistency on the use of biomass. To support this effort, EPA aims to ensure its federal procurement recommendations encompass the broad reach of responsibly managed forests and ensure parity with or deferral to the USDA mandatory purchasing requirements established under the Biopreferred Program. Additionally, EPA is incorporating into its ongoing review of, and improvement to, Clean Air Act permitting programs a concerted effort to develop a range of options consistent with a carbon-neutral policy for biomass from forests and other lands and sectors.

Researchers at the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are seeking responses to a survey on biorefinery operations. Yimin Zhang, an environmental engineer at NREL, and Marshall Goldberg, a subcontractor for NREL, developed the brief survey to improve the NREL’s understanding of the next generation biofuel industry and its contribution to the local, state, and national economy. Industry stakeholders in the planning, construction, or operation stage of a biorefinery are asked to complete the survey by March 8, 2018. The aggregate data will be used to report the survey results. Individual responses will not be published.

The DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is hosting an Advanced Algal Systems Listening Sessionfrom 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. (PDT) on June 13, 2018, in Seattle, Washington. During the listening session, BETO will seek feedback from experts in algal biology, cultivation, and conversion on ways to address near-term research and development barriers and opportunities for cost-competitive algal biofuels and bioproducts. The discussion will focus on opportunities and challenges in integrating algal productivity and biomass yield improvements in scalable algae cultivation systems to achieve high yields.

On February 20, 2018, the European Commission (EC) issued a notice of initiation of an expiry review of antidumping (AD) measures applicable to imports of U.S. bioethanol. The AD duty that has been in place since 2013 was set to expire on February 23, 2018. The European Renewable Ethanol Association (e-PURE) petitioned the EC on behalf of producers representing more than 25 percent of the total European Union (EU) bioethanol production to review the AD measures due to the likely recurrence of injury to the EU industry. E-Pure alleged that the removal of injury was the result of the existence of the AD measures and that an increase of imports at dumped prices from the U.S. would likely lead to a recurrence of injury to the EU industry should the measures be allowed to lapse. Following its determination that sufficient evidence exists to justify an expiry review, the EC will investigate whether the removal of the AD measures will likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping of U.S. bioethanol. The investigation will conclude within 15 months.

On February 15, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the release of the Co-Optimization of Engines & Fuels (Co-Optima) report titled Fuel Blendstocks with the Potential to Optimize Future Gasoline Engine Performance (Fuel Blendstocks report), along with the companion report on Efficiency Merit Function for Spark Ignition Engines. The Fuel Blendstocks report identifies eight blendstocks that have the potential to improve gasoline performance. The assessment criteria included physical properties, high-level health-impacts, the ability to improve advanced spark-ignition engine efficiency, and the potential to be introduced commercially in the 2025-2030 timeframe. According to the report, a targeted effort was made to identify fuel components that can be sourced from domestic biomass. In addition to increasing U.S. energy security and creating jobs in rural America, use of renewable fuel components can provide technical, societal, and environmental benefits. Part of the Co-Optima objective is focused on developing data on blendstock production, fuel properties, and engine performance to perform a detailed assessment of the benefits of sourcing blendstocks from biomass versus conventional resources, and to identify areas where further research and development are needed. During the next phase, Co-Optima will validate the potential fuel efficiency improvements through engine testing and will also begin examining fuel efficiency gains in heavy-duty diesel engines.

On February 16, 2018, AkzoNobel, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that a consortium of companies signed a project development agreement to develop a waste-to-chemistry facility in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The facility will convert non-recyclable mixed waste, including plastics, into syngas and then into clean methanol for use in the chemical industry and for the transportation sector. An estimated 360,000 tons of waste will be converted into 220,000 tons of clean methanol. The agreement covers the initial investment of nine million euros for the detailed engineering, setup of a dedicated joint venture, and completion of the permitting process. The final investment decision for the estimated 200 million euro project is expected to be made in 2018. According to Marco Waas, Research, Development, Innovation (RD&I) and Technology Director at AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals, “the agreement comes at a very appropriate time given the current challenges in plastics recycling in Europe. We can convert non-recyclable waste, into methanol, an essential raw material for many everyday products, including sustainable transportation fuel. Not only can this be used in the existing supply chains and replace fossil sources, but it also avoids CO2 emissions otherwise produced by burning waste.” The consortium responsible for the project consists of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals, Air Liquide, and Enerkem.

On February 13, 2018, Neste, a member of BRAG, announced that the Western Contra Costa Transit Authority (WestCAT) will operate exclusively on Neste MY Renewable DieselTM. WestCAT is a California public transportation service that serves the cities of Pinole and Hercules, as well as communities along the eastern edge of San Francisco Bay. The entire fleet of 45 heavy duty buses, which operates 14 fixed routes and carries over 1.3 million passengers annually, will switch from petroleum diesel to renewable diesel. In addition to a reduction in emissions from the fleet, WestCAT observed cleaner operation of their bus engines and a significant reduction in the maintenance needed for the emissions equipment and internal engine components due to the use of Neste MY Renewable Diesel.